Marcus Fakana, the British teenager who was imprisoned in Dubai after engaging in a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, has been released and returned to the UK, following a royal pardon issued by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Fakana, now 19, had been sentenced in December 2024 to a one-year jail term after authorities in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, were alerted to his relationship with the girl, also British, during a family holiday last summer.
The girl’s mother, upon discovering private messages between the pair after returning to the UK, reported him to UAE authorities. Although the relationship was consensual, UAE law sets the age of consent at 18.
According to Detained in Dubai, DinD, a legal advocacy group that supported Fakana throughout his ordeal, he was granted clemency as part of an Eid pardon, a traditional act of mercy during the Muslim festival which allows rulers to offer selected prisoners a second chance.
“He’s overwhelmed,” said Radha Stirling, the group’s founder, who has been in contact with Fakana’s family.
“It’s always very difficult when someone’s suddenly released after six months. For a young man, a boy, really, as I would see him… It’s just unfathomable for most people how long it would take to recover from such a situation.”
Describing the family’s emotional roller coaster, Stirling added, “He was absolutely very nervous, of course, and his whole family too. But I mean, once you’ve been told ‘buy that plane ticket’, there’s obviously a sense of relief at that point. His family is just over the moon to have him back early.”
Fakana, from Tottenham in north London, had been in Dubai with his parents since late August 2024 when, according to Detained in Dubai, a “holiday romance blossomed” with another London-based teen, who has since turned 18.
The two were reportedly in the same school year, leading Fakana to believe she was of legal age.
Stirling questioned the prosecution, saying: “I think the law saying that an 18-year-old can’t engage in relations with someone who’s just a few weeks younger than him is quite strict and perhaps shouldn’t be applied to tourists.”
“Furthermore,” she added, “Marcus didn’t know that she was under 18; they were in the same school year and it seemed fair and reasonable that he assumed her to be 18 as well.
“So I think again under those circumstances he shouldn’t have been prosecuted.”
In a broader warning to families, Stirling cautioned: “Parents need to be aware that teens can be charged in the UAE for behaviour that would not be considered criminal at home, whether that’s a relationship, social media activity, or even drinking alcohol.”
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, FCDO, confirmed its support for Fakana and noted that he was released last week as part of the Eid pardon.
The FCDO added that he had chosen to return quietly to his family without media fanfare.
